Sometime yesterday afternoon, I was
given a free, small Jordanian flag and a red and white checked shouba
or small koufieya, the national head dress. Shortly after that the
“Truck Club” (mostly Dodges because even in Jordan, they know
quality when they see it) revved on by. Nearly 20 trucks passed by
waving the Jordanian flag. Right behind them was another parade of
vehicles carrying flags and pictures of the king. Flags flew from
every building and giant flags cascaded down the front of some of the
bigger buildings in the area. Later that evening fireworks popped
into the sky from several places in the city. I sat with a bird's
eye view on a hill called Al-Ashrafiya where Annie, my facilitator,
lives. We had just finished a delightful meal of falafel, bread and
hummus. The area of town was quiet. Cars were driving on the
streets beneath us, but they were too far away to be heard. But as
the sun went down, the call to prayer went out. “Allah Akbar!”
God is greatest! Echoes of the reminder to remember God rung out
over the city as we finished our meal. Then the city grew still with
the peace of night. What a wonderful day!
=)
Fun fact for the day:
The seven points on the star in the Jordanian flag represent the seven verses in the first chapter in the Qur'an as well as Arab unity.
Wow! I didn't even realize there were 7 stars on the Jordanian flag. Or that Surat fatihah has 7 verses. And God created the Earth in 7 days. There are parallels everywhere:)
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